West Holmes duo fills in nicely

Published: November 6, 2001 12:00 AM

Take an all-state middle hitter and an all-district setter out of the lineup, and it wouldn't be a shock to see most volleyball teams regress a little.

How does one explain the West Holmes Knights then?

Entering this season, the Knights lost Mel Mohr, the Div. II Player of the Year, and setter Tara Martin to graduation. Yet this week you'll find the Knights preparing for their second trip to the state championships in the last three years. West Holmes (27-0) will face Cincinnati Roger Bacon (26-1) at 6 p.m. Friday in a Div. II semifinal at the E.J. Nutter Center in Fairborn.

Those in search of a reason why the Knights were able to advance a step further than last season -- when they lost to Big Walnut in a regional championship match -- should look no further than Lindsey Piar and Tristen Dye.

Unknown commodities at the beginning of the season, the duo have combined to give the Knights' lineup two more potent offensive options to complement seniors Lindsey Bird and Shasta Cross.

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West Holmes coach Jim Park knew both would play a role in whatever success the Knights had this season. How much of one, however, wasn't evident until the first day of practice.

"We walked on the court August 6 and were warming up, then we got to the passing and hitting drills and it was evident from that moment that they were going to be great players for us," Park said. "We knew those two were going to start, we weren't surprised at that. But we were excited and surprised at the kind of dominant players they've turned into. They've both been integral parts of our team from the first day of practice.

"They've been everything you could ever imagine and then some."

Pair, a 5-foot-8 junior outside hitter, is second to Bird in kills with 185, while Dye, a 5-8 sophomore who plays the middle, has racked up 102 kills this season. That's roughly 200 more kills than the duo combined for last season, when Dye was a raw freshman and Piar an inconsistent sophomore.

"Tristen was just a scared freshman last season and Pi was Pi, she was just out of control a lot of times," senior setter Megan McDowell said. "Now, you can see how much they've both matured. There's no doubt that they've been a big key for us and helped us get this far."

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Although Piar saw more action than Dye down the stretch last season, both took valuable lessons away from their varsity experience.

"I have a lot more confidence this season," said Dye, who honed her skills during a summer camp at Ohio Northern. "I know I can fill a role on the team this year.

"Last year I was inexperienced and I was just watching my teammates play a lot of the time. Now I actually get to play and be a part of the team."

Piar was a part of the Knights last season, but as the only new starter on a team coming off a Final Four appearance in 1999, she often put undue pressure on herself to perform up to her more experienced teammates' level.

"Last year, when I screwed up I felt as if I'd let the team down," Piar said. "This year I'm going out there and playing a lot looser. I'm a year older and I'm not putting as much pressure on myself like I did last season."

Park noticed the surge in the duo's confidence right away.

"They both understand how to play, they're aggressive all the time and they don't ever doubt themselves," Park said. "Tristen was a deer in the headlights last season. She was terrified, but you can't really blame her because she was playing a lot as a freshmen -- and sometimes starting -- for a team that was ranked in the top two in the state.

"With Piar, who knew what was going to happen when she hit the ball. It was great hit, great play, brick, brick, great hit, brick. This year you know what's going to happen for the most part, and it's almost always positive.

"Just the way (Piar) carries herself and the way she acts, you can see how much more confident she is," Park added. "Tristen's the same. She's more confident and aggressive this season. They're both just natural, instinctive athletes."

That natural athletic ability especially pays dividends when the Knights are on defense. Aside from being proficient hitters, both Piar and Dye play all around and are two of the Knights' best passers.

"Technically, their passing skills are tremendously better," Park said. "They handled probably less than 60 serves last season and this year they've probably passed around 500. We rank our passers 0-3, with 3 being perfect, and they both rank from 2.37 to 2.53, which is very good."

With Piar complementing Bird on the outside and Dye doing the same for Cross in the middle, the Knights feature four players with more than 100 kills this season. They hope it's the kind of balance and variety that ultimately leads to the school's first state volleyball championship.

"Offensively, Lindsey and Tristen are head and shoulders above a lot of the people they play against, and that's a great asset for our entire team," Park said. "They give us two more great options in our attack and that's something we didn't always have last year."